The invoker
by doodger
Summary: 10 years have passed since the defeat of Fiersome. Aria, now a famous archeologist, makes a discovery that triggers a catastrophic chain of event. At the center of the storm: an ancient power that has the power to heal the world... or destroy it.
1. Mia

Hello everybody! This is my first fan fiction. I don't know how long it will be, but I intend to finish it before November. Every chapter is told from the point of view of a different character. I heard about it in a french book I've read (Ijime, la loi du plus fort), and I thought it goes well enough with the story. Thank you, and enjoy the story!

Ten years have passed since the defeat of Fiersome. The news of the dragon's demise swept trough the land like a wildfire: who could have thought that such a massive monster was sealed in a rural area? The king of Norad decided to create a guild for explorers and archeologists, hoping to encourage the discovery of new ruins and treasures.

The town of Alvarna obviously attracted a lot of attention; the colossal Palermo shrine was discovered under the barn of a local farmer. Soon, explorers settled down in the region, hoping to find ancients treasures and forgotten knowledge. From less than thirty souls, the village grew to more than two hundred inhabitants. The small region became famous for its hard working citizens and its rich soil. The young adventurers, once full of dreams, settled down to a peaceful life of tending to their fields.

Little did they know that a mysterious discovery would shatter the peace of the country, and send shock waves trough the entire world.

Chapter 1: Mia

"Hey Mia, look at this!"

The young elf dropped her magnifying glass out of surprise.

"I told you to stop yelling! The echo is really loud, down here."

"Yeah, sorry, sorry. But come, look at this."

Mumbling to herself, the archeologist walked to the spot Aria was pointing with her finger. She instantly forgot her annoyance when she saw the tablet. Made of white stone, it was covered by text. She brought her lantern closer, to try to understand some of it.

"Don't try to read it, it's earthscript."

Mia stood up, annoyed once again. Earthscript, the scripture used by most ancient civilizations, was extremely hard to read. Mia had never bothered to learn it. Aria, however, squatted to her knee and started deciphering it. Born as an earthmate, she had the ability to read earthscript easily, a fact that made her invaluable.

"So, what's written on it, a love poem?"

"No, not really. It's some sort of text about the temple's creation."

"Really? Read some of it to me!"

"Are you crazy? The whole thing is like 3000 thousands word long."

"Well, we don't have much more time before night falls. Lets just use some carbon paper and get back home."

While Aria was busy copying the text, Mia thought that her friend's career choice was decidedly strange. Archeologists often need to be immobile in small, dark rooms for hour, looking in the dirt for something useful. Aria, on the other hand, is both impatient and full of energy. Often, Mia would watch her friend eating candies, or falling asleep on the job. On the other hand, when she did work, it was truly maddening. The young woman often spent more than 20 hour at a time trying to guess the meaning of items they dug up. Trying to take back said item was usually impossible. One day, when Mia casually said that Aria should write a book about all her findings, her friend went to work nearly immediately; two weeks later she was done. The entire manuscript was sent to the explorer's guild. The next month, the team was granted additional funds, from the king's own pocket.

Night had fallen for a long time when they finally made their way out of the shrine. Aria decided to accompany her friend back to her home.

Mia had never really understood how exactly their friendship had formed. She was a quiet, introverted elven girl, while Aria was the well-known daughter of a human couple. Her family had been one of the first to settle down in the village, nine years ago. The villagers, while nice people, were a bit startled at first. The last time somebody had arrived in town was when Aria's own father was found by his future wife. Now, a whole family had bought a plot of land outside of the town. Even more, the newcomers were elven! People wondered. Would they be like Jack and Orland?

The first villagers to meet them were Kyle and Aria. They helped the family settle down and plant some crops. Soon, Jake and Cecilia joined, and pretty much everybody followed. 

Much like Kyle had helped her father, Aria made sure Mia joined the community.

It wasn't easy at first; the young elf was shy, and liked nothing more than reading alone. Ignoring her objections, the fiery girl had dragged her new friend to the other kids. Soon, the duo was inseparable. Although they had little in common, Aria took a liking to reading, and Mia proved to be as talented at magic as her friend was.

Since most of the plot of lands close to the village already belonged to either Kyle, or Herman de Sainte Coquille, Mia's farm was on the other side of Meshina valley. In fact, most of the new farms were located there. Over time, most farms were moved to the richer plain, while Alvarna gained new building. The older families of the village were thrilled to have new neighbours(or new customers, for some).

Aria was quiet, something that didn't happen very often.

"Hey, what is on your mind?"

"Huh? Nothing much. I'm just thinking about the text we found out."

"What about it?"

"... Nothing much, I said. I'm only surprised we didn't find it sooner."

This was a good explanation, but a discovery usually didn't put Aria in that kind of mood. Mia knew better than to ask more however: Aria had the tendency to shut down like an oyster when asked about stuff she didn't feel like discussing about. Still, the expression on her face was peculiar. It looked like... Fear? Confusion?

Aria stopped. She stared at her friend for a moment.

"Listen, stop trying to guess. I'll talk about it when I feel like discussing it."

"But..."

"There is your house. Good night."

Startled, Mia hurried to get inside. Before entering, she turned and saw Aria running back home.


	2. Barret, Kyle

Ayup, I joined two chapters together, because I can! So, enjoy the story! I'll write up more ASAP. School will give me ample time to continue writing up this tale, in fact ^^'

Chapter 2:Barret, Kyle

Barret was barely surprised to find Aria in the library. Everyday, when he got to school, the girl was already there, reading her spell books. In fact, one day he locked the door before leaving. The following morning, he found her reading aniway. When asked about the locked door, she showed him her mother's spare key.

He remembered the day she brought him her first spell book, fireball. He had explained her how to read the book, and use it to throw fireballs. He also remembered the smile on her face, when she finally managed to use it. The teacher was sure that the sparks that flew out of her hands that day triggered her burning passion for magic. Soon, she found other books, scattered around the town. Most of them were in bad shape; her mother helped her to repair them. She continued to train, until she managed to defeat Fiersome using the Dragonbane spell. She also managed to bring her father back by recreating the Omnigate spell.

She continued to study. At 14, she managed with her friend Mia to create a new spell, Holy Fire. The spell was only a fusion of Shine and Fireball, two spells she had known for a long time, but it was only a beginning. She kept working, every day, until she managed to invent another spell, and another.

At 16, she was able to use spell without any books, or staff.

Sometime, Barett wondered if Aria's power had transformed her over time. She was stronger, and faster than most boys of her age. Once, the fiery girl got in a fight with Orland. The elf tried his best to hit her, and failed miserably: Aria was simply too fast. And then, suddenly, Aria was behind her opponent. A single kick sent him head first in the fountain.

Barret sat down opposite of her, and began correcting a test he had given the previous day. Alvarna, being the only village with a school, had begun to attract kids of others villages. Barret and Mana taught to thirty students, from eight to eighteen years old.

He was halfway through his third exam when he looked up. Aria was no longer studying her spells. She was staring at the ceiling, thinking.

"How do magic works, Barret?"

"Well, I should be asking the question to you, not the opposite."

"Seriously."

"Fine. Humans and monsters have two form of energy: their life force, and their runic force. The life force is a measure of health, while the runic force is a measure of energy. For example, runic force is used to throw fireballs, water a field, play music, etc."

"But using magic is different than, say, raising an arm."

"Not really. In both cases, energy is used to do something."

"How is runic force regenerated?"

"Well, by resting, and eating. Earthmates can also regain energy by tending to the earth."

"So, you are saying that everything uses runic force?"

"Yes."

"But how can the portal that summon monster work, then?"

"Nobody knows. Logic says they get energy from somewhere, or they wouldn't stay open for very long."

"But they must be using rune force!"

"Why?"

"Because when I used the Omnigate spell, it tired my very much."

"Look, I don't know why. In fact, nobody knows why those gates exists at all."

The girl stayed mute for some time. Then she spoke again, grinning.

"Hey, I want to show you something I invented."

"Really? I don't suppose you will let me finish my correction, instead?"

"Hush. Come, you won't regret it."

She half-led him, half-dragged him, to the dojo.

"Look I know you want to show me once again how good you are with swords. But I really don't have time."

"Just look!"

She brought out some practice dummy. Then, she drew her sword, and stood there for a moment. Barret began thinking about leaving, when she began her demonstration.

Her sword turned white. She ran at inhuman speed, and hit one of the dummy.

For a while, she seemed to flow in and out of existence, raining blows. When she finally stopped, the dummies were all broken to pieces.

"Awesome, isn't it?"

"Wait... What? What happened?"

"It's a fighting style I created. I use magic to move faster, and hit harder."

"Incredible! Can you do it again?"

"No... not really."

"Why?" Barret was pretty disappointed.

"This technique uses phenomenal amount of energy. If I lose control of it, the power will start tearing my muscles really badly. Using it for longer than a few seconds isn't safe."

"Wow... do you think there is a way to make it safer?"

The exhausted woman stayed mute for a while. Then she answered:

"No, it isn't possible. Not with runic power, anyway."

"Not with runic power... what do you mean? You found some other way to use magic?"

"Well, I'll tell you if it works. See you soon!"

"Stay out of trouble, alright?"

"I'll try."

Having finished the day's work, Kyle walked back home, satisfied. The crops were ready for the harvest. As usual, a vast numbers of buyer had shown up. During her father's absence, Aria had decided to grow fewer, higher quality crops. The farm was famous for offering the finest fruits and the tastiest vegetables. But the biggest cash income for the farm were the rare, exotic flowers that Aria grew in the dungeons around town.

Things had changed much during Kyle's disappearance, but nothing matched the farmer's own change. His time spent in the first forests had profoundly affected him. For a start, time passed differently. It seemed to him that days lasted much, much longer. He always had been an overachiever, but these days others wondered how was possible for him to do the work of three men, alone.

He ate different food, and couldn't stand alcohol anymore.

One thing that scared him a little was that he had gotten very good had reading the minds of his fellow villagers, a fact he tried to keep to himself. He was sure some of the smarter villagers were wondering, though. The farmer always knew more than he wanted to.

However, his new "ability" , as he called it, didn't work on his own daughter. Strangely, he felt a bit weird when she was around. A very, very subtle emotion he couldn't put his finger on.

How his precious little daughter had grown so much was a mystery to him. He wondered if she would give him grandchildren, one day. Aria was very secretive about some things, and he wasn't even able to guess if she even had a boyfriend.

He was shaken out of his thoughts when somebody knocked on the door. Opening, he saw Mia.

"Hello, Mia! How are you doing?"

"Fine. I'm looking for Aria"

"Can't help you. I've given up on keeping track of her whereabouts."

"She didn't tell you anything, this morning?"

"No, nothing unusual. What, is something wrong?"

"Everything is fine. I'm just looking of her."

She was obviously lying. The poor girl looked very upset.

"Listen, you can tell me what is wrong."

To his surprise, the elf was on the verge of crying.

"Aria found something at the dig site, three days ago. Since then, she have been avoiding me."

Kyle was taken aback. The last days, Aria had acted completely normal to everybody else. She had smiled and laughed, like usual.

When did she begin lying to everybody?

"Listen, you know how Aria is. She is probably doing something right now, and doesn't wish to be disturbed."

"But why didn't she tell me? I'm her best-friend."

"Well, I..."

His word were cut-off by a terrible scream. Kyle collapsed to the ground, holding his ears. In the barn next the the house, the animals started panicking.

"Kyle, what happened? Tell me!"

The poor farmer tried very hard to speak, but couldn't. He got up, and shakily made his way toward the barn.

Inside, most of the beasts seemed as panic stricken as him. He staggered to the lift, Mia at his side. They went all the way down to the shrine.

In a daze, they both ran to the end of the tunnels. Soon, they found Aria, sprawled on the ground, her sword broken to pieces. Next to her, a hooded figure was busy reading a book.

"What happened?" Asked Mia.

"Your friend messed with things she didn't understand. She has already paid for her crime."

"No, you can't mean..." stammered out the girl.

Kyle's head was spinning. Everything was happening too fast. He dropped to one knee, and tried shaking his daughter awake.

No reaction.

Mad with grief, he picked up the broken blade and ran toward the murderer. The figure merely waved it's hand. Kyle flied trough the air and crashed in the wall.

"You would be her father, right? Kyle, if I remember well. "

"Why?" Asked the girl. "Why did you kill her? She was a good person. She helped everybody!"

"It was only a shell. A thinly built facade. Look how fast she changed, once she found that tablet. Her fragile disguise crumbled up. "

"But... Why? How did it come to this?"

"Eight years ago, she used the Omni-gate spell to bring her father back.

But little did she know that Omni-Gate isn't an ordinary spell. It's an invocation."

"An invocation?"

"An invocation. These spell books were used by Invokers, long ago. Of course, you elves know them by another name."

"Blood wizards."

"Exactly."

Kyle tried mightily to speak.

"Can't speak, human? It's the your punishment! You were brought back to life by a forbidden spell."

"This is lunatic! Aria only tried to help!"

"Maybe. But she has gone beyond the breaking point. Using forbidden magic is like a drug. In her mind, Aria was going crazy from the deprivation. Once an invoker cast his first spell, there is no going back for him. You know this to be true."

"This isn't possible! You killed her! I'm going to avenge her."

The elf brought up her hands. A blast of light hit the creature, who didn't react.

"Rune magic cannot affect me. I'm sorry, but you know too much. You will die buried in those cursed ruins."

The figure grabbed Mia, who tried vainly to get away. Soon, strange voices began to echo in the void. Kyle closed his eye, waiting for the inevitable.

The chanting stopped suddenly.

"It can't be!" Raged the creature.

Aria was standing in front of it, holding Mia. Her eyes shone with terrible power.

"Disappear! You have no business being in this world!"

"Fool! You are cursed!"

Aria began singing. The figure howled in pain. The soothing words woke up Mia, who watched the creature being banished to it's world.

Soon, only the three of them were left.

Mia screamed something in Elvish.

"No, it's not true." Replied Aria, weakly.

More screaming. Mia took her friend's hand, and ripped away the glove. The hand underneath it was covered in red tattoos.

"Mia, please."

The young elf turned her back and walked away. Aria stood there, sobbing. Her father took her in his arm.

She continued crying in the dark for a long time.


	3. Jake

_Dang, I hate writing in the past tense! I'm always writing in the present tense in french, so this story really messes me up. I also have trouble with the verbs tenses. But still, I will get this story to good port, don't worry. I'm writing something else in french, So I'm working every two day on this. When not playing Starcraft 2/fire emblem/rune factory ^^'. Expect the next update around Thursday._

The rain nearly drowned the entire harvest. Most of the villagers had worked very hard under the downpour to save as much crops as possible. Kyle and Aria worked nearly 12 hours a day, first to save their own harvest, and then to help out the others. By the end of August, nearly 2 feet of water had fallen.

Nobody really knew what had happened between Aria, Mia and Kyle. Since her father couldn't speak anymore, Aria spent most of her time helping him. Mia was nowhere to be seen.

Jake put the hammer away, and immersed the sword in his water bucket. Looking at the blade, he was annoyed to see that the sword quality was below his average. Cursing, he put the useless piece of metal back in the forge, trying to reforge the blade better.

When working, the elf usually ignored the outside world, focusing on the item he was creating. Even on very bad days, fashioning an item out of metal took away all his personal problems. How could his legendary concentration have failed him today?

Reluctantly, he admitted to himself that he was fairly worried for the little human. No, not little human. He didn't call her by anything else than her name, these days. He was... how to explain it? As much as he didn't want to, he had begun to care for her. When every other had given up, the stubborn girl had continued trying to befriend him. Jake knew he wasn't a very nice person. He had also thought he didn't love, or friendship. Cecilia, and later, Aria, had proved him wrong.

Whenever he was down, or depressed, or angry, she managed to cheer him up. Now, she was the one sad, and Jake knew that he wouldn't be able to make her smile. The idea made him sick.

He looked up from his work. Kyle and Aria had entered the shop, carrying crates of food. They dropped their cargo next to the stairs. Tanya handed out a pouch of gold.

"Well, thank you for bringing me your finest crops once again. I wish I could pay you more."

Kyle and Aria both raised their shoulder at the same time.

"We don't mind. We would feel bad selling anything but the best to our neighbour." Answered Aria. Her father nodded in agreement.

"So, you really can't speak, Kyle. I had hoped the rumours to be wrong. I wish I could help you somehow, but we make weapons here, not remedies."

The farmer turned around and left. The young woman sat down next to Jake. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, Jack spoke up.

"What's wrong, little human?"

"Hey, it's been a while since you called me like that."

Jake didn't know how what to reply. So he waited, curious if she would talk about her troubles.

Some more time passed. Tanya picked up her set of keys.

"Well, I've got an errand to run. Aria, make sure Jake doesn't do anything stupid."

Aria finally smiled a little. The shop's owner left.

"She sure didn't feel like eavesdropping us."

"Hmmph."

"So, Jake, when did you start caring about how I feel."

"What kind of question is that? I care, alright?"

A bit ashamed of his blunt answer, the elf started to work on the sword again.

"You have no idea? I saw your wife 10 minutes, this morning. It was all it took for her to guess my secret."

"Listen, she is good at having friends. I'm not."

Aria didn't comment the fact he viewed her as a friend.

"Have you ever heard the story about the two orders?"

"Well, of course I heard it! Every little elf listens to it at some point in his life."

"Could you tell me about it?"

Jake looked at the blade. Once more, he hadn't succeeded in forging it well. He threw the blasted thing away.

"I'll try to translate it as best as I can. It goes something like this:

In the beginning, two brothers lived, Enku and Eryu

One of them had the power of creating and destroying.

The other had the power of tending, and helping.

Soon, they wished to spread their knowledge.

They found others, who were willing to learn.

Soon, each brother had his own order of wizards:

The earth mates and the invokers.

When the gods heard that the two siblings

had spread their knowledge, they became furious.

The king of gods talked to both of them.

The first brother denied that he had committed a crime.

The other argued that spreading knowledge shouldn't be punished.

The king of god made the following offer:

If one of the brother denounced the other,

he would be free of divine wrath.

One brother instantly refused. The other asked for the king of gods

to return on the solstice of winter for an answer.

In the end, the brother decided that mortals needed magic, and that

he was too cowardly to sacrifice himself. He denounced his brother.

The following day, his sibling was executed.

Mad with grief, the remaining brother claimed that the god had

punished Eryu for teaching forbidden magic. His order hunted down

all of Eryu's disciple, and burned all of their books.

When the last invoker was executed, Enku ran away from his sins.

He was never found again.

After he was done, Jake remained silent for a while.

"That is a very sad tale. Why is it still told?"

"To remind that there is nothing to be gained from betraying others."

"Listen... I made a terrible mistake."

"Then, try to fix it!"

"But I can't. Much like Enku in the story, I betrayed somebody that trusted me. And now I'm... Look out!"

Before Jake could react, the young woman had pinned him to the ground. Two arrows flew above them.

Cursing, the elf pushed Aria away, and grabbed a weapon on the rack. His friend pulled her sword, Azurea, from it's scabbard. They turned to see their attacker.

Two mans were standing next to the door. Dressed in a silver chain mail, they were both holding crossbows.

"Cowardly humans! Why are you attacking us which such weak weapons?"

"Well, a pity we missed. Those technological marvel sure are inaccurate."

"Who are you? Tell me!" Roared Aria.

"We are knights of the king. We were sent to arrest a witch."

"Well, you aren't arresting me."

"You don't have a choice in that. You are way too dangerous for us to leave you alone."

Yelling, Aria slashed at the air three times with her sword. Thunder, fire and ice all rushed on the knights. The spells died halfway trough the room.

"My, my, my. Casting three different elements at the same time, without a spell book or a staff. Too bad you aren't the first heretic to resist capturing."

"It's impossible! The spells were simply too powerful to be countered!"

"They weren't countered. See, we were given this little orb." He showed a small ball of glass, full of blue smoke.

"Basically, your spells just turned on themselves. The more powerful the spell, the least effective it turns out to be."

"Well, I'll have to things myself."

She ran up at them, holding her sword. Jake, a much weaker swordsman, decided to stay behind, to avoid distracting her.

Outnumbering Aria didn't seem to help the knights. The young warrior parried, dodged and kicked away everything they threw at her. On the other hands, they were both battle-hardened veterans. While Aria moved swiftly and attacked strongly, the two men walked slowly, saving up energy. Soon, Aria began to tire. Her moves weren't as precise. One of the swordsmen managed to cut her head a little. The warriors didn't made it trough the fight unharmed, far from it. Both had racked up a large amount of bruises and small cuts. Still, they were slowly gaining ground. Jake decided to start helping her.

"No, Jake, stay away!"

Talking and fighting don't mix together very well. One of the warrior slashed at her with his sword. Aria jumped over the blade. The other soldier slammed her in the wall with his elbow. Her sword flew out of her hands. Fallen to the ground, she rolled and dodged yet another attack.

Now she had her back to the corner. Both knights walked her way.

"I didn't know you were stupid enough to pick a fight with us. Any last word?"

She spit at her attacker. Shrugging, the man raised his sword for a killing blow.

All three had forgotten about the elf. Taking his chance, Jake used the blunt end of a sword right across the head of Aria's wannabe executioner. He fell to the ground, much like a puppet whose strings were cut out. Cursing, his buddy whirled around and lunged at the smith. He side stepped. In the confusion, Aria had stood up. She grabbed the knight and pressed a knife to his throat.

Tanya chose to arrive at the moment.

"What the hell is going on here? Are those guys knights of the king?"

"Yes, or so they claim. Those _humans_ didn't understand not to mess with an angry elf."

"I'm sure the girl did most of the work."

"Maybe."

"Why are you here?"

"We were told to arrest this girl, Aria. She has been using forbidden magic."

"Well, that's no reason to try and murder her! Did you show any identification? Are you allowed to attack civilians and destroy property?"

"No but..."

"I don't care about your explanation! Pick up your friend and get out of town!"

Aria let the man go. He walked a few step and picked up his blade.

Suddenly, he turned around at started running toward Aria.

Jake jumped in front of him. He brought his sword down, nearly cutting off the soldier's arm. However, the knight's forward momentum kept him moving forward.

Jake felt the sword enter his abdomen. The world seems to freeze for a second.

"He got me? That stupid human managed to hit me? Why aren't I hurting? What is going on?"

Jack looked up, to see Aria's shocked face. He saw guilt, he saw remorse, he saw sadness. He wanted so hard not to see her sad."

"Maybe I will faint before she starts crying."

Both fighters crashed to the ground.


	4. Leonel

_Well, this chapter came out pretty damn fast ^^' Enjoy!_

_Writing is really peculiar. Someday I don't feel like writing, and end up writing like crazy, and other days I'm motivated, only to get slapped in the face by the infamous white page syndrome. _

Chapter 4:Leonel

Jake was rushed to the clinic. Using magic, Aria managed to stop the hemorrhage, while a trembling Ray managed to sew the wound shut. The elf was no longer in immediate danger of death, but the loss of blood had been quite severe. The soldier had almost hit Jake's kidney, something that would have killed him nearly instantly.

Most of the villagers were beginning to be suspicious toward the young woman. She still refused to explain what had happened.

For now, Aria was sitting next to Leonel, next to the town's fountain. The young man had rarely seen her so tired.

"You should go to sleep, you know. How long did you help Jake's healing?"

"Don't know. Very long, I think."

She lowered her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes. Sighing, Leonel pushed her away.

"What are you thinking about?"

"You remember, when we were kids."

"Yes I do."

"Remember how I would often arrive late in class?"

"Heh, that was funny. Your mother would get angry, yell for a few minutes, and then you would swear not to do it again... for the hundredth time."

"Yeah, and then I would sit next to you and you always asked me what took so long."

"Everybody did. You walked around like you owned the place."

"Yeah, I sure did. But then, I was growing up the crops to feed me and my mother. I was up at 6 working on the field, and then I had to go to school, and then I had to work some more."

"Yeah, it's a wonder you found any time to go dragon hunting."

"It was worth it, just to see Mom and Dad together again."

"Say Aria, I've always wanted to ask you... Why did you want to become an archeologist?"

Aria tensed up, for a moment. Then she answered.

"I was wondering... Who put those ruins there? What more could be hidden underneath the earth."

"Well, Dad says that some things should not to be explained."

The sentence seem to hit Aria pretty hard.

"I sure can agree after what happened to my father."

Leonel didn't want Aria to hid behind a mask, like she did when she didn't want to answer. However, he had to know.

"What happened to him?"

Aria moved her head away. The young man grabbed her shoulders and turned her toward him.

"Answer me, please. You and Kyle are liked by everybody in town. Not knowing is turning everybody nuts."

"I... Alright. When dad went to the first forests, a part of his soul changed. I began to suspect this when I saw how much he had changed. Then, recently I found a spell book in the Palermo shrine. While I was examining it, the book... Activated. I passed out, blinded by white light. When I woke up, Dad was mute, and I had this mark on my hand."

She took off her left glove. Leonel looked at it, disturbed.

The mark was blood-red. Intricate patterns of lines formed a dragon's head. Aria quickly put her glove back on.

"What is that thing?"

"Well it's a... Wait. Orland is coming."

Leonel looked up. Much to his dismay, the young elf was walking their way with an arrogant smirk.

"Don't mind, I won't be intruding your little romance."

Aria's face turned furiously red. Leonel rose up.

"Hey, leave her alone! She didn't do anything to you."

"You are so gullible, like all humans. She told you how my father got injured, did she?"

"No... Don't... Please Orland..."

"He got stabbed in her place. The king sent two knight here to ship her away. When she started resisting, they brought up sword. Without my father's help, she would have died."

With a cruel smile, Leonel waited for the human to turn on Aria. However, his reaction surprised him.

"You think I believe you? You lie as easily as you breathe."

"Well, ask Tanya. Or Ray. Or even Mia. She told the truth to everyone but you."

"Shut up!"

Both man were at less than one meter of distance. A crowd of villagers were looking at the scene, sure that the two would start fighting. Aria walked up and separated them.

"Please, Orland. I know you are upset because of what happened to your father, but Leonel isn't the one you should blame. I'm the one you should be angry at. "

Leonel pushed her aside.

"Aria, back away. Stop talking to him. He is too blinded by hate to think clearly."

"Too proud to have your girlfriend fixing things for you?"

"You..."

"Stop! Both of you! What would both your father say?"

"LEAVE MY FATHER OUT OF THIS, HUMAN!"

Leonel pushed Orland away. The elf lunged at him, trying to punch him in the guts. The young man braced for the hit.

To everybody's surprise, Aria appeared between both of them. She curled in a ball, taking the hit directly on her stomach.

Orland backed away, ashamed of hitting her. She stood up, spitting some blood.

"Aria... Why did you..." Stammered out Leonel. Tanya who was looking at the entire scene, spoke up quietly.

"She did it because deep down, she feels guilty for what happened to Jake. She know that Orland is right, not you."

Aria began to walk away, really fast. An enraged Orland screamed at her:

"This is all your fault! You will bring us all doom!"

Leonel pushed his way out of the crowd. He ran after Aria. He finally found her sobbing near her farm.

"Go away! I want to be alone!"

"But I want to talk to you!"

"Well if you really want to help me, please go away!"

Starting to get angry, Leonel raised his voice.

"You can't push out everybody out of your life because you feel like it! Friendship is a two way street! Every time one us needed help, you offered it. You always tried to look and act invincible! Well, guess what? Your act is falling apart! And you can't accept it, can you? You can't stand to ask somebody else for help? Well you have no idea how exasperating it is to watch you drown in those problem of yours, and see you using your last strengths to refuse any help!"

The young girl completely broke down. A bit startled at his outbreak, Leonel took her in his arms.

"I didn't want this to happen to me! What went so wrong! I'm an horrible failure of a person. Because of me, my father can't speak, one of my friend is avoiding me, and another one is gravely wounded."

"Life is a stream of problem, Aria. Strong people don't try to make their way trough them. They ask for help to solve them."

"You must find me pitiful, to break down like this."

"You are tired. That's all."

Slowly, she began to calm down. Soon after that, she was deep asleep. Leonel stood up and lifted Aria. He carried her toward her house. He knocked up at the door, and waited for Mana to open it.

"Hey there Leonel! What happened to Aria?"

"She passed out from exhaustion."

"Well, follow me upstairs."

They both made their way to Aria's room. A bit tired, Leonel dropped her on her bed. Mana waited for him to get out, and gently closed the door.

"Thank you for getting her back here."

"No problem. She would have been pretty mad if I had let her sleep all night on the ground."

"Yes, she definitely would be."

"How is Kyle going?" Leonel asked without much tact. Mana smiled.

"He is taking it much better than Aria, I think. It takes much to get him unhappy."

"Everybody used to think that about your daughter."

Mana sighed.

"They don't really know her. Even tough she acts differently, Aria will always remain the shy, quiet girl she was, a long time ago."

"Why did she change that much?"

"Her father's disappearance came as a shock to both of us. I tried my best not to cry, to avoid getting Aria upset. That was the wrong thing to do. She soon learned to hide her emotions behind a facade. I think that's why she became good friend with Mia: she was looking for somebody acting like her. But even then, she couldn't break out of her shell. The really sick thing is, everybody is used to Aria acting like that. She looks like she has a very successful live, something that awards both envy and admiration. She is trapped by people's expectations, unable to break free."

"Why didn't you try to fix this?"

"We did try... What kind of parent would want to condemn their only child to this kind of life? But we acted too late. Whenever Kyle or me would approach her, she would deny, act like everything was fine, shut off her real self. Soon, we started to doubt. Was she really fine? Maybe she had just grown up, changed her personality? We lied to our self as much as Aria did."

"And now, what? She has messed with some pretty dangerous magical stuff. How will she make her way out of it?"

"This spell she cast isn't the cause of all her problem; it's a consequence. Deep down, she has been trying to fill the void in her heart with magic. When she got her hand on the spell, she didn't see it as a dangerous item. She saw it as a way to cry out for help."

"Well, how can we help her?"

"We can't help her. She must be all alone one last time, if she wants to live once again."


	5. Aria

_Duh, I really like writing. I'm usually watching something at the same time, tough. Starcraft 2 games, AMV, animes, etc. I really need the background noise to concentrate. It's probably because I started writing in class, to escape my boring teachers XD_

_So, anyway, here is chapter 5! I kinda expect 5 to 10 more chapters, depending on how things go. Enjoy!_

Chapter 5: Aria

Jake finally left the hospital by the end of September. Aria had wanted really bad to go see him, but she didn't feel like meeting Orland.

The young woman was devoting much of her time to the spell book. Despite all the trouble it had caused her, Aria was still thrilled whenever she learned another spell.

Whenever she got tired of studying, she usually visited Cammy, Roy and Leonel. Even if Roy and Cammy would soon be thirty, Aria still tought of Cammy as an older sister. Even after the last events, Cammy still trusted Aria entirely. A majority of the other villagers had started avoiding her out of superstition. Finally, a small minority had taken up the recent events to openly hate her.

Aria walked trough the church, waving at Gordon. Soon, she was in Cammy's room. The young woman was sitting on her bed, writing something.

"Hey Cammy!"

"Aria! How are you doing!"

"Super good. Where is Roy?"

"He is gone fishing."

Roy and Cammy had saved up to buy a fishing ship. It turned out to be a really good investment. Roy usually hired some help to go fish out at sea, while Cammy sold everything to shops and restaurant. They were making quite a lot of money.

Aria walked trough the room and sat on a chair.

"So, made any progress on that book of yours?"

"Well, yes... but I haven't found out much about my father's problem."

"That's too bad. What exactly are those spell?"

"The magic that is used by every wizard is Earthmate magic. It uses things that already exist."

"Give me an example."

"When I cast a fireball, I am using the energy inside my body to change the temperature of a ball of air.

It's much the same principle as, say, waving a sword around. You use your energy, and an object to slice something up."

"And how does that book of yours change things?"

"Well, the end result would be the same: something getting cut to pieces. But I wouldn't get tired, and wouldn't need a sword."

"That... doesn't make any sense."

"Well, It's like explaining what a cat look likes to a blind man. You really can't understand without using it."

"Then, show it to me!"

When Cammy got excited about something, it was nearly impossible to get her calm. Smiling, Aria made a small ball of fire fly over her right hand. She then did the exact same thing with her left hand.

Her friend stared to both, a troubled look over her face.

"That spell... it feels wrong."

"Which one?"

"The left one. Something is strange about it."

"It's because it's not made using my body's energy."

The right ball flickered out of existence.

"See, my body got tired pretty fast, and the spell ran out of power. The other one could stay like this for an eternity. Now, touch the spell."

Tentatively, Cammy held out her hand.

"Hey, I can touch it without burning."

"Yes you can. See, the exact spell, cast using two different sources of energy ends up doing different things."

"So, basically, that spell book gives you access to another way to cast spell?"

"Yup."

"Well, how useful is that?"

"Tremendously useful. Earthmate magic is the power to change, to modify. This magic, Invoker magic, is the power to create... and destroy."

Aria sang a couple words. A white light inundated the room for a few moment. When Cammy looked at her friend's hand once more, a Chipsqeek was sitting on top of it. It stared at the bemused human for a while before disappearing again.

"You... What?"

"Yeah, I summoned that little squirrel here."

"But that's imp..."

"Impossible? Not anymore."

"That's incredible! Why isn't this kind of magic used anymore?"

"Well..."

Aria was looking away. Cammy knew that her friend wouldn't answer.

"... it has a terrible price."

Being answered made Cammy jump a little. Aria never talked about anything bad that happened to her.

She looked up to Aria's face. Her friend had gone trough a lot these last weeks. Her visage looked much more mature. The sorceress lifted up her left hand and pulled off her glove.

A red mark was spread on most of it.

"The wizard of old learned the hard way that unlimited power could only lead to unlimited destruction. So they sealed both kind of magics. The power to grow and heal, was left those who would use it to help others."

"The Earthmates."

"Exactly. The other kind of magic was very different. Nature needs both life and death, chaos and order in order to survive. The wizard needed to seal away the power, so that it could be used in times of great need. In the end, they found a way. They infused the magic in the land itself, creating the first monster portals. Finally, they wrote 12 spell book explaining the art of invoking. Then, they buried everything in huge underground temples, and placed guardians on top of them."

"So you mean that Fiersome was in fact guarding the shrine!"

"Well, I guess he got crazy over time, somehow. But, to stop him from escaping, my father fused with him. Then, he left me clues on how to defeat the dragon."

"Yeah, I remember that. Then, you found that spell to revive him?"

"I thought so. But the omnigate's true pupose was to lure me into being an invoker."

"You found that book, and read it."

"Exactly. Next thing I knew, my father was mute, and I had that bloody mark on my hand."

"Why?"

"Invoker pay a terrible price for their power. The magic feeds on emotions, good or bad. When I woke up, and saw that my father wounded, I panicked. I blamed myself for what happened to him. The magic fed on my despair. It was a terrible circle. I felt horrible, and the magic grew stronger as I despaired, making me even more depressed. Worse, my distress spread to much of the villagers. Even if I got a grip on myself, the other still distrust me, trapping me in the magic they despise."

"But that's..."

"Ludicrous. I know."

"Then, how can you fix things?"

"Well, there isn't much I can do except make everybody happy once again. But it's impossible since some of the villagers hate my gut because I'm an arrogant person."

"Stop blaming yourself. People like Orland are always looking for somebody to blame their trouble on."

"What about Mia? She avoids me like the plague"

"Well, you should try explaining yourself to her."

"It's no use. The elvish word for Invoker is the same as Traitor. As long as the magic is around, she won't trust me. And Leanne won't trust me. And everybody else."

"But why? You never harmed anybody!"

"I don't know. It's just the way things are."

Both remained silent for a while.

"Well, thank you for explaining it to me. It sure was awful, when you wouldn't say what was troubling you."

"Well, you should thank Leonel for that. He yelled at me for a while, because I wouldn't tell me what was wrong."

"Leonel did what?"

"Yeah, it wasn't really pretty, although it helped me a lot. His words hit me pretty hard, and woke me up."

"That's great. Listen, I've got something to tell you, that I've been hiding for a while. But it's a good new, this time."

"Alright, I'm listening."

"Roy... proposed to me."

Aria was at loss for words. She had seen it coming, like everybody else. Still, the new was fantastic.

"When?"

"Two months ago. We agreed to make it official when we would have enough cash to build a house. With today's fish, we should be fine. "

"That's incredible!"

"Would you like being my maid of honor?"

"Nah... I don't like this kind of stuff."

"..."

"Just kidding, silly. Of course I'll do it!"

Cammy threw her arm around her friend, both crying and laughing. When she calmed down, they went outside to wait for Roy to come back. Cammy pulled out her drawing book and ripped off a page, giving it to her friend.

Cammy and Aria both liked drawing, although Cammy was much better at it. They usually sat on the ground, in front of the church. Most of the time, Aria would take the finished drawings, and craft them into cranes, dragons, wolves, animals. The drawings on them gave them an unique look.

Today, though, Aria's imagination was running at a blank. She couldn't imagine anything to draw. The first image that came to her was Cammy in a white wedding gown, but there was no way that Aria would manage to draw it well enough. The next thing she thought about was her sword, Azurea. But she didn't feel like thinking about something she used to hurt people. Minutes went by while Aria chewed her pencil. Finally, she glanced at the mark on her left hand.

The mark... Aria couldn't help but marvel about it. The pattern of line was both complex and simple. Sadly, other people didn't like it, for some reason. The idea came to her to show it in another way.

She started moving her pen around, forming lines and curves. She didn't know what she was doing, only that she felt like adding even more line. Eventually, she figured she was done drawing. She took a good look at the piece of paper, and found only a mess of lines and forms. Disappointed, she put the piece of paper away.

"What's wrong?"

"Nothing much. I was doodling a bit."

"Mind if I look at it?"

"No, not at all."

Cammy took a look at it, and frowned.

"That's weird... why didn't you finish it?"

"Finish what, now?"

"That picture of yours."

"What?"

"Look."

Cammy picked up her pencil and started working. Aria watched, intrigued. Soon, her friend was done.

The mess of line had turned into... something else. Aria and Cammy both knew that the image had to meant something... but what?

"That picture..."

"Yeah, I know. It's strange, isn't it?"

"How did you finish it?"

"No idea. It just looked better that way. Why can't we understand what it means?"

"Because... It's part of a spell."

"Really? But how could I draw a spell form?"

"It's the magic's influence. It's using you, too. That drawing must be important, somehow."

"Well, it's still pretty cool. You used the mark on your hand as the basic, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then... keep the drawing. I'm sure it you will find something of use for it."

"Thanks. Hey, I'm going back home. My father needed my help for something. Say hi to Roy, alright?"

"Ok. Take care!"


	6. Orland

This chapter is more talking... But somehow I feel like it's ok. Also, school is around, which should give me enough time to finish this Story, and crank out another one. (Yeah, I'm not paying attention in my religious education class, but I don't care ^^')

Chapter 6: Orland

Orland was immensely relieved when his father woke up. He had tried to hide the fact that his Jake's injury upset him, to avoid all those human pitying him.

Deep down, he knew why he had hit that human girl. It wasn't rage, or anger. It was disgust. When he decided confronting her, he had expected her to lie, to deny everything, like all human would. Orland hadn't expected her to confess to everything. In front of everybody. He had tried venting his anger on Leonel. But the cursed girl had taken the hit, instead. When she fled, Orland had wanted to go apologize. Instead, he acted like a coward, letting Leonel go after her.

In the end it was easier to blame somebody else than to blame himself. He had taken to avoiding the human like plague.

For now, Orland was sitting gloomily in Egan's inn. Once an happy place, the inn had started filling with unhappy people, of late. Most of them blamed Aria, in hushed whispers.

"Hey, Egan. I'd like something to drink."

"Are you sure, Mia? I never saw you drink before."

"It's your job to serve, not to ask."

"Alright. A mug of tea?"

"Whatever. I don't care about alcohol."

"Glad to hear. _What troubles you this much?_"

Both Mia and Orland jumped a bit. It was unusual for Egan to speak elvish.

"_Aria._"

"_I see._"

"She's a real pain." Whispered Orland.

"Well, everybody's a pain for you."

"Don't give me that. Aria is a pain for everybody."

Most of the customers looked at him. The inn grew silent.

"Aria is a better person than all of you." whispered Egan.

Nobody spoke. The door burst open, revealing Aria and Cammy.

"Hey everybody! Cheer up, you look like you are going to a burial."

"Leave them alone Cammy. They don't want to be happy, and they never will."

Most of the customers rose up, mumbling to themselves. Aria gave them an evil stare. All of them sat down, except Mia and Orland.

"Hello, Mia."

"..."

"You aren't answering?"

"Leave me alone. Please. I don't want to see you."

"Well, I do want to talk to you. It's been, two months? Two months where you avoided me?"

"I am avoiding you because I am angry at you. You lied to me. You lied to everybody."

"I did. And I apologize."

"There is no turning back. You lied. That mark on your hand is the proof of it. You know what the only way of reversing the spell is."

"There is another way. I've learned about it."

"Well, I've got a great new for you. You won't do it."

The silence in the inn was deafening. Everybody was staring at the two former friends.

"You are addicted to the magic. I know how it must feel like. The voice in your head. Those thoughts that won't leave you alone. You can hear it now, right?"

"..."

"Mia,Stop it."

"Stay out of this, Egan! You are lying to yourself, too! You are pretending not to care that she is a Blood witch! You think your problems are going to disappear if you ignore them?"

"Shut up. Don't talk to him like that."

"It's your bloody fault! All this mess is your bloody fault! The fault of a little human girl who was tricked into doing things that she didn't understand!"

"I've had enough. Stop insulting her! She didn't do anything to you!" Screamed Cammy.

"Stay out of this, human!"

"Enough."

Everybody looked at Orland. The young elf looked at Mia straight in the eyes.

"Stop showering her with insult. She is a better person than you are."

"What?"

"She had the courage to come here and find you. She has the courage to face everybody's hating. She will have the courage to fix things up."

"Why are you defending her?"

"Because I can."

"_Mia"_

Aria spoke in an hesitating elvish.

"_Mia, please. I'm not angry at you. I only wish we could be friend again. I've done terrible things. But the word you said that day were cruel. They hurt me terribly. But I'm not a bad person. I've been hiding behind a facade, a mask. I've been deceiving everybody, starting with myself. The only things that kept me alive all those years were my friends. And even then, I lied to them, too. I want to change that."_

"_I'm sorry. But you won't change. I know you better than that."_

"_... So be it. Goodbye, Mia."_

Aria picked up her purse of gold with her left hand. While staring at Mia, she took out her sword.

She cut up her left arm, and used the blood to stain the purse. She then threw it at Mia's feet.

Most of the human customers looked confused. Egan and Orland's were astounded.

Mia's face was completely white of fear. She grabbed the purse, and ran out.

"Sorry I didn't get to buy you a drink, Cammy. But I've got things to do, at home."

"It's fine. Meet you at the usual place tomorrow?"

"Yepe.

Aria walked outside and slammed the door.

"What... What happened?" Stammered out Cammy.

"What Aria did is the most terrible insult that can be done."

"Can you explain it to me?"

"The blood gift." Whispered Orland.

"What is it?"

"Friend do selfless things. They help one another, without expecting to get paid. Aria's gesture means that she gave back everything that Mia did for her. She paid back all her debts to her old friend, so that she doesn't owe her anymore. From now on, Aria will pretend that they never even became friends."

"It's terrible... but why was Mia afraid?"

"The gesture has a second meaning. Since they no longer are friends, Aria no longer cares about Mia's well being. She wouldn't even care if Mia died."

"Mia is deathly afraid that Aria will attempt to something terrible to her."

"But why? Why is she afraid of invoker magic? Why did she start hating her best friend?"

"Mia... Mia... Mia..."

"Orland! Answer!"

"Look, I can't tell you in good honesty. You need to talk to Mia directly... or to her parents."

Cammy left, too. Most of the customers paid their drink and went away, leaving the two elfs alone.

"Going to read in my room, grandpa."

"Yeah, I'm closing the inn for the night. Tell your father he should go talk to Aria."

"Yeah, I will. Good night."


	7. Ray, Isaac

_Here is the story of a foolish canadian teenager. Let's call him JC. Poor JC tought that since he had already finished all his important courses, the last year of high school would be hilariously easy. Little did he think that he would still get an epic amount of projects and a towering amount of science homework, and grab some teachers who finally found out that JC writing in a notebook does not mean JC is paying attention. So, to cut this little story short, I'm crushed with stuff to do. That's why this update was a little... long to be written. Anyway, don't expect the next chapter for a week. The story is soon coming to it's main twist and all that._

_Note about the story:Isaac is the name of the unnamed knight. Whe isn't he named explicitly? I don't know. Also, Aria's nickname for this chapter is shamelessly taken from You-Can't-Catch-Me's story, viva la arianna. But seriously, what else could Aria be nicknamed? Her name is 4 letters wrong XD. By the way, go read YCCM's story's, because they are great. Now, have fun!_

Chapter 7: Ray,Isaac

Winter came early. The first of november, snow started falling. Over the next two weeks, a staggering two feet of snow fell. It was bitterly cold. It seemed that nature's mood matched the villager's.

Ray was surprisingly busy. Barret broke his ankle when he slip on some ice. Jake still felt weak from his injury. Julia caught a really bad cold which left her bedridden for a few days. Eirika, one of the newer villager, was sick with some kind of respiratory disease. A lot of people needed medical attention, for a reason or another.

Even with a full-time nurse, he was constantly busy. He also asked for Mia and Aria's help. Both were potent magic healer. Mia came for a few hour, and vanished when she learned that she would need to work with Aria. The bad blood between the former friends seemed to have extended to most of the villagers. Most of them sided against Aria, something that bemused the doctor.

"So, what happened between the two of you?"

"Nothing much. You can ask my father about it."

"Hahaha. You are very funny. Now, go back to work."

"Hey, you are lucky that I'm helping you free of charge."

Ray sighed. How that girl had changed in the past months! From an hyperactive extroverted young girl, Aria had turned in a calm woman who spoke little. She had... grown up? Matured? Somehow, she acted like she should act. She didn't smile as much as she used to, but her smiles felt honest. One thing that hadn't changed was her odd sleeping cycle. Sometime, she would stay awake for over 20 hours in a row. Other times, she could be found napping at the various places she liked to visit. Her ability to work for so long helped the doctor greatly.

"Why are you working here, anyway?**"**

"...? What do you mean?"

"Well, don't you have other things to do?"

"The fields are full of snow, and the dig site has been closed on account of my dispute with Mia."

"Well... you could hang around with friends?"

"I can't do that 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Most them work."

"So, you are here because you have nothing to do?"

"Well, kinda. But... I don't know. I feel like doing something useful, and nobody else will let me work with them. The smith already has two employees, grandpa doesn't need help, and everybody else is fine."

"You feel like helping people?"

"Yeah..."

"Why?"

"I don't know."

"Well, maybe you feel guilty, somehow."

Ray looked to the young woman. She stared at the ground with dull eyes.

"Maybe I do."

"You shouldn't help, then. Helping people must be done selflessly, not to assuage a guilty conscience."

"Well, I'll think about that."

Both remained silent for a while. Then, the door rushed open. A stranger staggered in, wet from the snow. He was bleeding from numerous cuts.

"This is an hospital?" He said, calmly enough. Ray's training kicked in.

"Yes. What happened to you?"

"Met some pretty nice locals. They tried to cut me up with axes and the like."

"You mean the monsters, in the mountain?"

"Obviously."

"What is your biggest injury?"

Smiling slightly, the stranger lifted up his shirt. Aria froze in terror.

The man had been run trough with a sword.

"Sit down! How could you walk off such an injury?"

"I've been drinking pain medication. Tell me, am I going to die?"

"I don't know. It depends on how much blood you lost. Aria, I'm going to fetch Dorothy. Can you manage to patch him up?"

The woman was white as a sheet.

"I think... Maybe... I can... I..." She stammered out. At first, Ray didn't realize what shocked her this much. This wasn't the first time she saw someone bleeding, obviously. Then, the doctor understood that she was reliving Jake's injury, once again.

"Aria! Snap out of it! You need to bring yourself together!"

The man's composure was cracking up. He was muttering to himself, feverishly. Startled, the young woman shook her head. She then nodded.

"I can do it. Don't worry."

"Alright."

The doctor left, leaving Aria to her patient.

"You sure you can manage it?"

"Yeah... It's just... A friend got injured in the same way."

"I see. Bad memories?"

The healer didn't answer, busy looking at the wound. Focusing her thoughts, she started whispering the words of magic. Soon, her hands were glowing over the wound.

"You can use magic without a book?" asked the stranger.

"Yeah..."

"That's unusual." Muttered the wounded to himself.

"I've learned how to do it by practising."

"It sure is handy."

The bleeding had stopped. The wound seemed to shut itself together. Using the blood on her hand, Aria drew 7 symbols around the wound. The stranger seemed to tense.

"What are you doing?"

"Those are power runes. They will use your body's energy to heal faster."

"Ok..."

"Try not to move for a while. Who are you, anyway?"

"I'm a..."

The scream of a young girl pierced the room. At the same time, Ray, Dorothy and Leonel entered the building. They all rushed to the young girl, Eirika. She had stopped yelling, and had a bad coughing fit.

"What happened?" Asked Ray.

"Nothing! She started screaming when I was done healing this man."

The stranger tried to rise up. He clutched his abdomen, in pain

"Listen, you need to lay still!"

"I want... I want to see her!"

"Alright. Then, I'll bring you there."

Aria took the stranger's arm and passed it around her neck. Soon, both were heading toward the girl. She dropped the man on a chair and went forward to examine the patient.

The young girl's bed was drenched in sweat. Aria touched her, and noticed that the young girl's skin was burning with fever. The young girl opened her eyes, and Aria saw that they were blood-red.

" 'Ria?"

"It's me, Eiri." Aria tried her best not to cry.

" ,Ria, I made a strange dream."

"Your dream is over, now. You are awake."

"In my dream... your left hand was blood stained."

Nobody moved.

"Did you kill somebody, 'Ria? Why is your hand red?"

"Hush. You are imagining things."

"Am I... Am I going to die?"

"No you aren't. I swear. Maybe you could close your eyes? You need to rest."

"Will I dream again?"

"No. I'll make the bad dreams go away."

The young girl closed her eyes. Soon, her breathing evened out as she fell asleep.

"What is that illness, Ray? I've never seen anything like it before."Whispered Dorothy.

"I honestly don't know." Answered Ray, confused.

"It's blood fever." said both the stranger and Aria at the same time.

"Blood fever?" Asked Leonel.

"It's a rare illness. Not much is known about it. There are no known cure." said the stranger.

"Is it always mortal?"

"No... Not always...But it's a very serious illness. I don't think one so small could survive it."

"Why? She was a sweet little child. She never did anything wrong." whimpered Leonel. Her mother held him in her arms.

"Life is seldom fair. It's a doctor's job to try to bring justice." said Ray, toughtfully.

"I can't accept that. I need to try something." said Aria.

"Like what?"

"I need to try something. I'll feel terrible if I don't."

Everybody looked at Ray. He was the doctor, after all.

"Fine. Do as you please."

"I'd need everybody to leave then. Except you!"

She pointed the stranger. Everybody else put on their winter coat. Before leaving, Leonel took Aria's hand. He started to say something, but instead he simply nodded and walked away. Finally, only Aria, Eirika and the stranger were left.

"Why? Why did they send another guy like you after me?"

"Hey. You guessed pretty fast."

"Please, I'm better than that. Nobody shows up here in the dead of the winter with a sword."

"Well, here is why you need to come with me. Your magic is killing that girl."

"You think I like having this power? You think the last month were the best of my life?"

"Then come with me. You'll get rid of it."

"That's a lie. You only want to throw me in jail, so your wizards can study me like an animal."

"Seem like I won't convince you by talking. And I'm too hurt to bring you use strength. Besides, you saved my life."

"Then, you are wasting your time."

"You know, they told me you wouldn't come. So they gave me a message for you."

"A... Message?"

"Yeah... you know there are only two way to get rid of invoker magic?"

"Really? What are they?"

"You will learn about them on the darkest of all days."

"The winter solstice?"

"Yes. That's the day you will be forced to make a decision."

"Pff, that's a very accurate prediction. Maybe I'll have to chose between two different dresses."

"Maybe. But it doesn't change the fact that you need to get rid of your magic, before it's too late."

"Yeah... I know."

Eirika squirmed in her sleep. Aria stroked her hair with a calm hand.

"What are you going to do about her?"

"What else could I do? I've got to take the sickness for myself."

The knight tensed for a second.

"You can't do that! You will die, or worse!"

"Obviously. But I can't allow such a small girl to pay for my mistakes."

"I thought you cared for your life."

"I do, more that you think."

The knight sat down.

"You are a good person. You don't deserve all of this."

"Perhaps. Do you... Do you... Do you know how long the fever will take to kill me?"

"I have no idea. How long was this girl sick?"

"She has been sick for four or five weeks."

"Well, then, you would have until the end of December to find a cure."

"That's fine by me."

Both remained silent for a while. Then the knight spoke, once more.

"Would you mind showing me an invoker spell?"

"Why?"

"My grandma... My grandma used to talk to me when I was young. She told me that the sweetest songs were lost a long time ago. That only the best magicians could ever sing them again."

"Is that why you took this job? To find somebody who could sing to you.?"

"Maybe. Maybe I was always hoping for this."

"Alright then."

Aria took off her bandages. To the knight's surprise, red drawings and patterns were spread on her arm. The young woman, already lost in the spells, started singing. The knight was astounded. The song was astoundingly simple, and yet the man could pick up complex patterns that appeared and disappeared over time. Soon, the melody died down.

The young girl stirred. Her eyes flew open. They looked perfectly healthy.

" 'Ria, is that you?"

" Hey there, Eiri. You feel better?"

"Yes! Thank you! I'm sure you fixed me up!"

"Yes I did."

"You are the bestest!"

The small girl threw her arm around Aria. The young woman tried her best not to sob. She didn't hear the knight picking up his things and leaving.


	8. Kyle and Aria

_Hey... Sorry for the long wait time. For a while I didn't feel like writing, and then I got hit by random Blank-page syndrome. At least this chapter is done ^^'. The next 3 chapters will be much, much longer, and come out quite a bit faster. I also expect to wrap the story up in 3 or 4 chapters._

_Enjoy! _

Chapter 8: Kyle

Snow had been piling up. Much of the villagers stayed home, with their families. The once full of life village was slowly dying as the mistrust and the resentment toward Aria grew. And while everybody acknowledged it, few tried to make things better.

* * *

Over time, Kyle had gotten used to silence. He could easily write in a small notebook if he wanted something. The rest of the time, he contended himself with nods, and hand sings. One thing he couldn't grow accustomed to, however, was his daughter's new attitude. Altough she was stressed by the recent events, she managed to smile one in a while. He finally felt like she didn't pretend to be someone else. He was simply happy to see her well again.

For now, the bad weather forced them to stay indoor. Father and daughter had built a huge fire in the chimney, while Mana cooked some pastries and warmed a kettle of milk. The house was cozy and calm. Aria was sitting by the fireplace, reading her spell book, as usual. However, she was unusually upset: she muttered to herself, and kept flipping the pages. Finally, she threw down the book. Right after that, she went trough a coughing fit. Her hand went to her mouth; it wiped away some blood. Kyle could only look at it for a brief instant; it soon vanished inside of Aria's pocket.

"Everything is alright, honey?" He wrote on his little notebook.. His daughter picked it up.

"Aww, don't call me like that anymore. I'm not 5." Answered Aria, making fun of him.

"You're sick?" was quickly scribbled.

"Yes. Caught a nasty cold."

Cold didn't make people cough blood, a fact that Kyle kept to himself. He quickly wrote some more lines.

"You are wandering what I was fussing about?"

Kyle nodded.

"Well, it's kinda weird. See, I drew this drawing, along with Cammy."

She pulled out the picture. Kyle saw an intricate amount of lines, forming no recognizable pattern.

He pointed out her left glove, where her mark was.

"Yes, the drawing does look like my mark. That's what I was wondering about."

Kyle fetched his notebook once again. His wife was busy serving the pastries and milk, obvious to her husband and her daughter. Soon, Kyle was finished writing yet another series of sentences.

"You think that the drawing is linked to a spell? Or linked to you? Why would Cammy be able to complete it? Are you sure those line she added are even important?"

"Well, that's the question. I think that it's linked to a spell about me. And I have no idea about how Cammy could draw something like this. See, magic can be used in many ways. Trough a weapon, such as an enchanted blade, trough words, like in a spell book, and even trough drawings."

"Drawings?"

"Not really drawings, but what they cause"

"Emotions"

"Exactly. One thing that is peculiar about Invoker magic, is that it's almost entirely opposed to regular magic. While one uses words as a mean of expression, the other uses drawings."

Kyle picked up the spell book. He was surprised to see that most of the pages were filled by drawings. He could even guess what some of the spells meant, with his limited knowledge of magic.

"But isn't magic simpler to learn, using simply drawings?" was written, once more.

"Yes, but it's also much harder to tame. See what happened to this village, for example. The spell that gave me access to this kind to this kind of magic is also behind everything bad that happened."

"How is that?"

"Words are logic. Rational. They obey a code. Drawings, however, are created by imagination. They obey their own set of rules."

"Well, have you figured out some of them? I'd like to have my voice back."

"The only thing I managed to guess is that the spell that triggered a few month back ends on winter's solstice."

"Ends?"

Aria picked up a cookie and chewed on it meditatively.

"Yes. The spell that gives me access to invoking magic is still running right now. It will be fully completed on the twenty-first of december."

"What will happen next?"

"I have honestly no idea. I only know that if I want to do anything, it will be on that day."

"What will you try to do?"

"I will probably try to renounce to my new powers. It should cancel out everything that happened."

"You can simply do that? How convenient."

"Actually, I'm not sure if it's that simple. The magic lives in me, and won't be too happy about being thrown out. I wonder if I'll succeed." commented Aria, gloomily.

"Is it that dangerous?"

"Oh, I don't know. Anything could happen to me."

"Would you prefer to keep the magic, or to get rid of it?"

The young woman stared at her spell book for a while.

"I want to get rid of it."

"Why?"

"Because it has already cost me something very precious."

"Your friendship with Mia?"

"Yes. You know, I miss hanging around with her. Most of the time we didn't even do that much. We read together, or something. But now she is gone. It's not fair."

"Life is harsh, honey. Harsh, and complicated. Do you know why Mia is this angry at you?"

"Well, invoking magic is very feared by all elves. But Mia... Mia... Sorry. She asked me not to talk about it."

"Well, at least you are keeping her secret, Aria." threw in Mana. "It's a sign that you haven't given up on your friendship just yet."

"Maybe you are right, mom. Maybe you are. But then, I spit on her name as publicly as I could."

"You did what?" Asked Mana.

"Is it linked to that disturbance at the eagle's inn?" scribbled Kyle.

"Yeah..."

"What did you do?"

"I pretty much told to everybody that I don't view her as an human being anymore." Told Aria with a straight face.

"You did WHAT?" Asked Mana, a tad louder.

"Don't complain about how she act, then!" wrote her father, in big bold letters.

"Yes I'm complaining! How does it feel like to ask for forgiveness, only to be called a liar? You think I didn't think it trough? At least I say what I think! I'm not muttering and whining and complaining underneath my breath."

"Calm down, Aria." Said her mother, trying to stop her fury.

"All of you! You all think this is my fault! You all think so, deep down inside you!"

"Aria, get a grip of yourself!"

Aria started to move, but Kyle was quicker. He caught her arm and twisted violently. Aria, fell on the ground. He kept the pressure on. He was unable to speak, but he was pretty sure she got the message.

She stood up, shaking. Tears of rage were falling from her eyes. She walked upstairs, to her room.

Mana broke down in tears. Kyle grabbed her and held her against him. He really wanted to say something to make her feel better. Instead, he waited silently for his wife to quit sobbing.


End file.
